Walter Benjamin is today regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century. Often captured in pensive pose, his image is now that of a serious intellectual. But Benjamin was also a fan of the comedies of Adolphe Menjou, Mickey Mouse, and Charlie Chaplin. As an antidote to repressive civilization, he developed, through these figures, a theory of laughter. Walter Benjamin and the Aesthetics of Film is the first monograph to thoroughly analyse Benjamin's film writings, contextualizing them within his oeuvre whilst also paying attention to the various films, actors, and directors that sparked his interest. The book situates all these writings within Benjamin's 'anthropological materialism', a concept that analyses the transformations of the human sensorium through technology. Through the term 'innervation', Benjamin thought of film spectatorship as an empowering reception that, through a rush of energy, would form a collective body within the audience, interpenetrating a liberated technology into the distracted spectators. Benjamin's writings on Soviet film and German cinema, Charlie Chaplin, and Mickey Mouse are analysed in relation to this posthuman constellation that Benjamin had started to dream of in the early twenties, long before he started to theorize about films.

O'Regan's analysis compares the politics and aesthetics of Blake and Brecht to offer dazzling insights into the work of both

Immersive theatre currently enjoys ubiquity, popularity and recognition in theatre journalism and scholarship. However, the politics of immersive theatre aesthetics still lacks a substantial critique. Does immersive theatre model a particular kind of politics, or a particular kind of audience? What’s involved in the production and consumption of immersive theatre aesthetics? Is a productive audience always an empowered audience? And do the terms of an audience’s empowerment stand up to political scrutiny? Beyond Immersive Theatre contextualises these questions by tracing the evolution of neoliberal politics and the experience economy over the past four decades. Through detailed critical analyses of work by Ray Lee, Lundahl & Seitl, Punchdrunk, shunt, Theatre Delicatessen and Half Cut, Adam Alston argues that there is a tacit politics to immersive theatre aesthetics – a tacit politics that is illuminated by neoliberalism, and that is ripe to be challenged by the evolution and diversification of immersive theatre.

How to Do Things with Affects develops affect as a highly productive concept for both cultural analysis and the reading of aesthetic forms. Shifting the focus from individual experiences and the human interiority of personal emotions and feelings toward the agency of cultural objects, social arrangements, and aesthetic matter, the book examines how affects operate and are triggered by aesthetic forms, media events, and cultural practices. Transgressing disciplinary boundaries and emphasizing close reading, the collected essays explore manifold affective transmissions and resonances enacted by modernist literary works, contemporary visual arts, horror and documentary films, museum displays, and animated pornography, with a special focus on how they impact on political events, media strategies, and social situations. Contributors: Ernst van Alphen, Mieke Bal, Maria Boletsi, Eugenie Brinkema, Pietro Conte, Anne Fleig, Bernd Herzogenrath, Tomáš Jirsa, Matthias Lüthjohann, Susanna Paasonen, Christina Riley, Jan Slaby, Eliza Steinbock, Christiane Voss.

The Success Rituals of Highly Productive People unlocks the secrets behind achieving extraordinary results and maximizing your potential. This comprehensive guide delves into the proven strategies and powerful habits that drive high achievers to success. From mastering the art of prioritizing tasks to leveraging cutting-edge techniques like the Pomodoro Method, this book offers actionable insights to transform your productivity. Explore how morning routines, goal-setting, and effective time management can redefine your daily performance. Discover the role of meditation in enhancing focus and learn how to build a workspace that fosters efficiency. Embrace the 80/20 Rule, conquer procrastination with action plans, and celebrate milestones with meaningful rewards. With a focus on developing a growth mindset and maintaining balance between work and personal life, this book provides a roadmap to sustained success. Chapters Include: The Power of Morning Routines Setting Clear Goals for Success The Art of Prioritizing Tasks Building Effective Daily Habits Mastering Time Management Techniques Embracing the Pomodoro Technique The Role of Meditation in Productivity Crafting a Winning Daily Schedule Leveraging the 80/20 Rule for Efficiency Overcoming Procrastination with Action Plans The Importance of Regular Reflection Creating a Productive Work Environment The Impact of Physical Fitness on Performance Utilizing Technology to Streamline Tasks The Benefits of Continuous Learning Developing a Growth Mindset for Success Balancing Work and Personal Life The Power of Positive Affirmations Strategies for Effective Delegation Networking and Building Meaningful Relationships Overcoming Obstacles and Staying Resilient The Role of Accountability in Achieving Goals Optimizing Your Workspace for Maximum Efficiency Learning from Failure and Embracing Change Maintaining Focus in a Distracted World Celebrating Milestones and Rewarding Yourself

This book explores why and how the personal creative practice of arts teachers in school matters. It responds to ethnographic research that considers specific works-of-art created by teachers within the context of their classrooms. Through a classroom-based ethnographic investigation, the book proposes that the potential impact of artist-teacher practice in the classroom can only be understood in relation to the flows of power and policy that concurrently shape the classroom. It shows how artist-teacher practice functions as a creative practice of freedom tending to the present and future aesthetic life of the classroom, countering the effects of neoliberal schooling and austerity politics. The book questions what the artist-teacher can produce within that context. Through the unique focus on artist-teacher practice, the book explores the changing nature of the classroom and the social and political dimensions of the school. It will be key reading for researchers and postgraduate students of arts education, critical pedagogy, teacher identity and aesthetics. It will also be of interest to art and design educators.

Evolutionary aesthetics is the attempt to understand the aesthetic judgement of human beings and their spontaneous distinction between "beauty" and "ugliness" as a biologically adapted ability to make important decisions in life. The hypothesis is - both in the area of "natural beauty" and in sexuality, with regard to landscape preferences, but also in the area of "artificial beauty" (i.e. in art and design) - that beauty opens up fitness opportunities, while ugliness holds fitness risks. In this book, this adaptive view of aesthetics is developed theoretically, presented on the basis of numerous examples, and its consequences for evolutionary anthropology are illuminated.